Mike Pence

Asia-Pacific summit marred by U.S.-China tensions

Photo: James D. Morgan/Getty Images for Carnival Australia

For the first time in 29 years, the U.S. and China failed to reach a closing declaration at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, underscoring the severity of tensions between the world's two largest economies, reports AP.

The big picture: During the two-day summit in Papua New Guinea, Vice President Mike Pence — attending in place of President Trump — repeatedly criticized China for its hostile trade practices and warned developing nations of falling into a "debt trap" through China's generous infrastructure loans. Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, used his speech to condemn protectionism and unilateralism in a slight to the Trump administration. Trump and Xi are expected to meet at the G-20 in Buenos Aires later this month amid their ongoing trade war and the Trump administration's governmentwide effort to paint China as a bogeyman.

Trump slams NYT story questioning Pence's loyalty as "phony"

President Trump criticized a recent New York Times story, which reported that he has privately been questioning the loyalty of Vice President Mike Pence, as "phony" and claimed that Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Kate Rogers refused to ask him for comment in a pair of Saturday tweets.

"The New York Times did a phony story, as usual, about my relationship with @VP Mike Pence. They made up sources and refused to ask me, the only one that would know, for a quote. I can’t imagine any President having a better or closer relationship with their Vice President then the two of us. Just more FAKE NEWS, the Enemy of the People!"

Reality check: The story includes a comment from White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley: "The president absolutely supports the vice president and thinks he’s doing an incredible job helping to carry out the mission and policies of this administration."